Thai

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A 7th-century Cambodian sandstone sculpture of Avalokiteśvara the future buddha, with a buddha figure on his head.
 
A 13th-century Cambodian sculpture of Avalokiteśvara the future buddha, with a buddha figure on his head.

Etymology

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From เจ้า (jâao, chief, lord, master; god; priest; royal person; etc) +‎ อยู่ (yùu, to be at, in, on, etc; to remain, to stay; etc) +‎ หัว (hǔua, head); literally meaning:

(a) "lord above [all/our/my] head[s]",
(b) "lord at [all/our/my] head[s]", or
(c) "[one with] lord on the head".

The suggested meaning (c) is based on the traditional belief that a future Buddha has a figure of Lord Buddha upon his/her head.

Pronunciation

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Orthographicเจ้าอยู่หัว
e t͡ɕ ˆ ā ɒ y ū ˋ h ạ w
Phonemic
จ้าว-หฺยู่-หัว
t͡ɕ ˆ ā w – h ̥ y ū ˋ – h ạ w
RomanizationPaiboonjâao-yùu-hǔua
Royal Institutechao-yu-hua
(standard) IPA(key)/t͡ɕaːw˥˩.juː˨˩.hua̯˩˩˦/(R)

Noun

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เจ้าอยู่หัว (jâao-yùu-hǔua)

  1. (พระ~, สมเด็จพระ~, พระบาทสมเด็จพระ~) an honorific for or term of address to a monarch, archaically applicable to high-ranking royal persons also.

Usage notes

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